Thursday, June 04, 2009

After a night of post stomach bug cluster feeding, and consequently very little sleep, this is not about Snapdragon.Surprise.Sustainability means a lot to me. I don't like creating bits and pieces of my daily routine that needs must end due to overconsumption of resources. I'm one of those quilters who will sit down for hours trying to puzzle out the most efficient use of materials possible before bustin' out my rotary cutter. I just made a bib out of the fabric I pulled off a chair before recovering it with my old favorite "skinny skirt," figuring I loved it enough to want to see it, and it certainly want stretching over my hips anymore. I believe in conservation of resources as a way of life. My sandals are over 5 years old. My husband approves of my sustainability minded mindset because while it means that the flannel shirt he outgrew (to put it kindly- I normally just ask him when he's expecting *his* baby...) I just might turn into baby wipes or a few squares in a quilt, it also means that I'm not the shopaholic wife that so many men end up with. Granted, they are often prettier, all dolled up in a brand new (I don't know the names of designers so bear with me) dress and handbag, their hair and nails recently resculpted and colored, makeup expertly applied. However, the lower-maintainance models require less overtime hours to subsidize them.Yay me!But this morning as I am grudgingly pulling Snapdragon to my chest for earlier-than-I-appreciate feeding, all the while smiling and interacting, I hear from the next room the voice of my Silly Mongoose. Mongoosine, never up this early, has zeroed in on yet another opportunity to deplete my energy reserves. "Mooooom?" Mongoosine calls from her bed, "is the pool open today?" "I don't know, Sweetpea." "Are we going to walk to the library this morning?" Hm. Are we? I don't know yet. Having spent the last day or so with one of those stomach bugs that leaves you four pounds lighter, I'd told her yesterday that I'd base that decision on how I felt today. But I've only been awake three minutes. So again, sighing, "I don't know." Honestly, I'm exhausted just thinking about it, and since when does she get to ask me yo do stuff when her teeth aren't brushed yet? Hmm?Kids will suck the life force right out of you. As infants they're pretty blatant about it, going straight for the tatas, but as they get older, they develop marvelous long distance energy vampire skillz.Then it hit me. Sustainability really needs to apply to all our resources. Not just fuel and paper, clean water and air. not just the tangibles.I need to let sustainable living evolve to include things like my energy reserves and my sanity. Sometimes its okay to take mommy moments where no kids get to pester you. They won't die if you don't look at their newest mini-oragami while you're going to the bathroom, rudely sliding it under the door and demanding immediate feedback. They think they will, but its a good time for them to borrpow from their patience reserves, and let mama sustain her peace of mind, don't you think?So I'm challenging every one of the two of you reading this to do something today, tomorrow, and everyday you think of it, to treat yourself as a non-renewable resource and do something to help sustain and conserve yourself. We all deserve it.